Updated by Boonta Wissawapaisal
Suntirach Lerdmanee
Shinawatra University Library
1 October 2015
Contents
Page
Introduction
Part 1 Parts of a Thesis 1
1.1 Front Matter or Preliminaries 2
Cover Page 2
Title Page 4
Approval Page or Signature Page 5
Acknowledgements Page 6
Abstract Page 7
Table of Contents Page 8
List of Tables, Illustrations, Figures, and Abbreviations Page 9
1.2 Text or Chapter Titles and Section Headings 11
1.3 Reference or Bibliography 13
Reference Page13
Appendix/ Appendices Page14
Biography Page 15
Part 2 Writing and Typing 17
Paper, Font and Size17
Levels of Heading17
Line Spacing17
Margins17
Folding Oversized Page18
Page Numbers18
Spelling18
Punctuation18
Numbers19
Quotations19
Tables, Figures and Equations19
Abbreviations22
Number of Publications22
File Name22
SIU School and Program of Studies (International Program)22
Part 3 Citing and Reference Style Guide25
3.1 In-Text Citation 25
Basic format for a paraphrase25
Basic format for a quotation26
Short quotation26
Long quotation 26
Footnotes27
Content notes27
Copyright permission notes27
3.2 References List 28
General rules28
Reference format28
3.3 Crediting Sources31
Part 4 Example41
Part 5 Template for SIU Thesis and Research Publication 65
Thesis and Research Publication Format Verification
Introduction
The purpose of this guide is to provide students with a basic introduction to APA citation style (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed.), including SIU thesis formatting guidelines and thesis template.
Writing academic paper, citing your sources is the first step to avoiding plagiarism. It is your responsibility to document all work that is not your own in the thesis by proper citation of sources. Citations are also used for giving credit to the work of others, helping readers find more information and sharing useful resources. All sources should be included in a reference list at the end of your paper.
Part 1 Parts of a Thesis
Graduate students must select a thesis(THE)/ research study (RS)/ independent study (IS)/ special study (SS) or project study (PS) and write that paper in an interesting topic by consulting with your advisor. APA style requires both in-text citation and reference list. The thesis must be written in 12-point, Times New Roman font. The entire document must be double-spaced. Pages must be formatted top with a 1.5 inch left margin, 1 inch right, top and bottom margins, except the first page of each chapter 1.5 inch.
The thesis format may include the following information:
Introduction
Background information
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Research question/problem
Research hypothesis
Definitions
Delimitations/limitations
Significance of the study
Literature review
Propose methods/ methodology
Design of the study
Development of the instrument/ experimental treatment
Data collection procedures
Data analysis procedures
Method of verification
Expected findings and discussion
Conclusion and recommendations
References
Appendices
Biography
Traditional thesis includes the following three parts:
1.1 Front Matter or Preliminaries: Cover page, Blank page, Title page, Approval page or Signature Page, Acknowledgments page, Abstract page, Table of Contents page, List of Figures page, List of Tables page
1.2 Text or Chapter Titles and Section Headings:Introduction, Literature Review, Research Methodology, Result and Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations
1.3 Reference or Bibliography: List of References, Appendices, Biography
NOTE:Research Study,Independent Study,and Special Study should follow this guidelines, especially the general format and citing of references. Text or chapter titles and section headings are not fixed, depend upon the nature of the work and disciplines that you identify with. Details can be discussed with your faculty advisor.
1.1 Front Matter or Preliminaries
Front matter includes of cover page, title page, approval page acknowledgments page, abstract page, table of contents, list of tables, figures and abbreviations.
Cover Page
The cover page is included of:
1) The University logo
2) Title of publication, all capital letters, font 14 bold
3) The word “By”, font 12
4) Author’s full name, font 14
5) Degree and school, font 12 bold
6) Local call number for SIU Library, font 14 bold
(SIU Type of publication: School-Program-Academic year)
Cover Page
Title Page
The title page is included of:
1)Title of publication, all capital letters, font 14 bold
2)The word “A Thesis Presented By”, font 12
3) Author’s full name, font 14
4) Degree, school and final academic year, font 12 bold
Title Page
Approval Page or Signature Page
Number of committee: 3-5 inclusive of major advisor.
Approval Page
Acknowledgements Page
The acknowledgements is optional.
Start to number this page with a lower case Roman numeral i.
The content and phrasing of the acknowledgements are for the author to decide.
Acknowledgements Page
Abstract Page
Number this page with a lower case Roman numeral.
Abstract part recommended not more than one page. First paragraph, state
short background objective, research methodology, populations and results from this research. Second paragraph are for conclusion and suggestion. At the bottom is for keywords.
Keywords will be placed at the bottom at the end of the abstract. You can use
major keywords in the content or choosing from online database or subject headings manual.
Abstract Page
Table of Contents Page
Number this page with a lower case Roman numeral.
Number chapter titles in Arabic numeral.
Omit third level sub-section headings from the table of contents.
The heading of table of contents, chapter, title and page are bold.
Capitalize the first letter of each words except the first word of articles that
are the first word in the title.
Table of Contents Page
List of Tables, Illustrations, Figures, and AbbreviationsPage
Number this page with Roman numeral.
Style and lay out should match the Table of Contents.
List of Abbreviations can be omitted if it is not necessary.
List of Tables, Illustrations and Figures, running number under chapter number.
List of Tables Page
List of Figures Page
1.2 Text or Chapter Titles and Section Headings
Introduction
Introduction should includes of background (some relevant key studies), introduce the key variables, constructs, importance of area of inquiry, specific research questions, research hypotheses, definitions, research limitation/ delimitations.
Text or Body of Contents
Chapter Titles and Section Headings should give the reader clear indication
of the content then they can follow. Discuss appropriate outline with your advisor.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Summarize the result including the problem and recommendations.
Chapter Page
1.3 Reference or Bibliography
Reference Page
Using APA Citation Style, 6thEd. (Publication Manual of American PsychologicalAssociation).There are handbooks about APAstyle are available in the library and on internet.
Reference or Bibliographysection is a list of all works that the author has cited orreferred to in his text,including all works that the author read and get some information.
List of References or Bibliography is arranged in alphabetic order by lastname of author or main entry of document.
Reference Page
Appendix/ Appendices Page
Number or letter appendix/ appendices and give each a title as if it were a chapter.
Example: Appendix Example: Appendix A
(Title) (Title)
Appendix B
(Title)
AppendixPage
Biography Page
Biography Page consists of:
Name
Date of Birth
Place of Birth
Institutions Attended
Position and Office/ Employment Address
Home Address
Telephone
Publication/ Presentation
Biography Page
Part 2 Writing and Typing
Paper, Font and Size
Use white paper, A4. Window program (such as word, page maker, etc.)
Use Times New Roman font with a point size of 14 for heading and 12 for plain text and mathematical symbols should be in italics.
Levels of Heading
The heading style recommended by APA consists of five possible formatting arrangements, according to the number of levels of subordination:
Level / Format1 / Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Headings
2 / Left-aligned, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
3 / Indented, boldface, lowercase heading with a period.Begin body text after the period.
4 / Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with a period.Begin body text after the period.
5 / Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period.Begin body text after the period.
Line Spacing
The final publication after examination should be 1.5 lines spacing except in case of using mathematic symbols. For Table notes placed below the body of the table, single line spacing.
Margins
Left margin: 1.5 inch
Right margin: 1.0 inch
Top margin: 1.0 inch, except the first page of each chapter 1.5 inch
Bottom margin: 1.0 inch
Folding Oversized Page
Oversized page, folding should be restricted to one direction. Some long page would require folding in two directions and should be placed in a pocket in the inside back cover. Indicated the location of the page by writing on the lists of tables or figures (inside back pocket) in the contents.
Page Numbers
Page in the Front Matter or Preliminaries are numbered with small Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, etc.), Starting with i on the Acknowledgements page
Starting with the first page (1) of the part 2 (The Text Chapter 1) with Arabic numerals at the upper rightcorner of each page, 0.5 inch from top margin and 1.0 inch from right margin through the last page of the publication.
Spelling
Spelling should be used consistently throughout the text. You can chooseeither British or American.
Punctuation
Take care with spacing before and after punctuation.
There are no leading space before the comma, period, colon, semi-colon or
question mark .
There is a space before the opening parentheses and a space after the closing parentheses.
There is no space between the beginning of the first word or the end of the last word inside the parentheses.
The term as following or the following require a colon (:) if followed directly
by a list of items.
The introducing clause if it is incomplete, punctuate the numbered items with
commas or period as if they were clause in a single long sentence. The numbered clauses do not begin with a capital letter and place a period at the end of the last item.
Numbers
Do not begin a sentence with a number, write in words instead.
It is commonly accepted style to write numbers less than ten in words.
Quotations
Short quotations should be included in the text and enclosed in double
quotation marks (“). Long quotations should be indented and no quotations marks are used.
Use ellipsis marks (…) for omitting parts of the author’s original sentence to
show what part is missing.
Tables, Figures and Equations
Tables, figures and quotations should be inserted into the text as close as
possible to their first mention in the text and should be numbered to indicate the chapter and the sequence in the text. Large tables or figures would appear on the following page.
Each table or figure is given a title as well as a number. Tables are titles at the top and figures are titled at the bottom.
Sample of a Table in the Text
Sample of a Table in the Text
Sample of an Illustration or Figure in the Text
Abbreviations
Use any standard style manual to check on standard abbreviations.
The name of organizations or specific terms when abbreviating write the full name or term the first time it is used then followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.
In the text, do not abbreviate ordinary words such as approximately or versus.
Do not use the ampersand (&) in place of and. Do not use a slash (/)in place of and or or.
Number of Publications
Students have to give their research publications to SIU Library.Two bound copies, one copy will be a signed page copy, with an electronic file on CD-R in word file and PDF file.
File Name
The publications will be converted into SIU Theses database. Electronic file need to be word file.doc and .pdf file
SIU School and Program of Studies (International Program)
School
School of Management (SOM)
School of Management Technology (SOMT)
School of Information Technology (SOIT)
School of Liberal Arts (SOLA)
School of Nursing (SON)
School of Public Health (SOPH)
Institute of Public Administration and Governance (IPAG)
Program of Studies
Bachelor’s Degree (International Program)
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS)
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts(BALA)
Bachelor of Science in Management Technology (BSMT)
Bachelor of Art in Industrial Design(BAID)
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
Master’s Degree (International Program)
Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT)
Master of Education in Teaching English as International Language (M.Ed.TEIL)
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Master of Management Technology (MSMT)
Doctor’s Degree (International Program)
Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology (PhD-IT)
Doctor of Philosophy in ManagementScience (PhD-MS)
Doctor of Philosophy in Public and Business Administration (PhD-PBA)
Type of Research Publication
Thesis- THE
Independent Study- IS
Research Study- RS
Special Study- SS
Part 3 Citing and Reference Style Guide
A citation is a way of giving credits to individuals for their creative and intellectual works that you utilized to support your research. Citing is one of the effective ways to avoid plagiarism.
There are many citation styles for citing your sources when writing an academic papers. APA style (American Psychological Association) is widely used in the social sciences, MLA style (Modern Language Association) in humanities, Chicago Manual of style is used broadly in the sciences. SIU thesis usedAPA 6thEdition for references and citations.
A citation must appear in two places in your essay: in the body of your text (in-text citation); and in the reference list (at the end of your paper). Direct quoting and paraphrasing: to quote directly from a source, use double quotation marks to enclose quotation in text; if the direct quotation is 40 or more words, display your quotation in a block of typewritten lines with no quotation marks by starting the block on a new line and indent the block a half inch from the left margin. References page must be in alphabetical order by the first word of the citation. Ignore A, An, or The, if it is the first word of the citation and alphabetize by the second word.Figures or tables from other sources should be referenced in the text and the reference list.
3.1 In-Text Citation
Basic format for a paraphrase
There are three writing formats for paraphrase.
Example 1:
Towards the end of the 20th century, companies have started to invest millions of dollars in technology to improve operations in its offices (Floyd & Ronen, 1989, p. 20).
Example 2:
Several studies (Miller, 1999; Adam, 1999; Storandt, 2007) …………………..
Example 3:
In 2005 Walker found that ……………………………………………… (p. 25)
Basic format for a quotation
Short quotation:(fewer than four lines or 40 words) from a source, enclose the quotation in quotation marks, and include author’s name, year of publication, and page number preceded by the letter p, outside the quotation marks.
Example:
Confusing this issue is the overlapping nature of roles in palliative care, whereby “medical needs are met by those in the medical disciplines” (Csikai & Chaitin, 2006, p. 112).
Example:
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.
Example:
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p.199).
Example:
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?
Long quotation (over than 40 words): from a source, create a block quotation, start the quotation on a new line, indent the quotation about 0.50 inch., omit the quotation marks, includes the page number preceded by p. or pp. after the period at the end of the quotation.
Walsh (2013) wrote that:
Creating dams changes the flows of water further downstream and this has numerous impacts on the lives of people living in those regions. Many of this impacts are not yet fully understood because research is only just staring to be conducted. It is certainly the case that dams block the movements of migrating fish and thereby have a negative impact on their breeding patterns. (p. 18)
Footnotes
Footnotes are used to provide additional content or to acknowledge copy right permission status. A number is placed in the text which refers to the footnote at the bottom of the page. The footnote also contains information about the author and the year of publication. The complete reference list is placed at the end of the text in alphabetical order.
There are a content notes and copyright permission notes.
Content notes: Content notes provide supplemental information or point readers to information that is available in more detail elsewhere. Content notes bebrief and focus on only one subject.
Sample of Content notes
2See for SIU theses abstract and academic papers.
3 Harold F. Graves and Lynne S. Hoffman, Report writing, 4th Ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1965).
Copyright permission notes: Copyright permission notes format is the same as the Content notes for noting copyright permissions. If you quote many words of published material or reproducing a graphic, chart or table from other source you may be in violation of fair use copyright laws so you need to request permission from the owner and provide a special note at the bottom of the item that includes copyright information.
Sample of Copyright permission notes